*README for physical geography and population (physfact_rev.*)*

*This dataset was revised on August 31, 2001.*

**

*Variables in this data set: *latitude and longitude of each country's
centroid, mean elevation, mean distance to nearest ice-free coastline,
mean distance to nearest ice-free coastline or sea-navigable river,
distance from a country's centroid to nearest coastline, distance from a
country's centroid to nearest coastline or sea-navigable river, total
population, percent of population within 100km of the coastline, percent
of the population within 100km of  the nearest coastline or
sea-navigable river, percent of land area within 100km of the coastline,
percent of land area within 100km of  the nearest coastline or
sea-navigable river, percent of population in the geographic tropics,
percent of population in the ecological tropics (REMOVED), percent land
area in the geographic tropics, and the typical population density an
average person experiences, by country.

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_Description of data (Word file)_ is a Microsoft Word document
(*physfact_rev-dta.doc*) containing a list of each variable within the
physical geography and population data set, a description of each
variable, how the variable was created, the source of the variable, and
any extra notes.

_Stata do file_ is a program (*physfact_rev.do*) written in Stata to
load the data in *physfact_rev.csv* and create the variable labels etc.
in *physfact_rev.dta*. It can be used as a model to load the data into
other statistical packages besides Stata.

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_Stata data file_ is the Stata data set with the physical geography and
population data by country (*physfact_rev.dta*).

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_ASCII file_ is a comma separated value file (*physfact_rev.csv*) of
the  physical geography and population data that can be opened as a
spreadsheet in Excel, or used in conjunction with the Stata do file
(*physfact_rev.do*).

These data sets were created as part of The Center for International
Development?s ongoing research into the role of geography in economic
development (see www.cid.harvard.edu/economic.htm
<http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidglobal/economic.htm>). They have been
created between 1998 and 2000. Please reference CID if you use this data
in a publication.

